The Elk family comes for a visit

Rumours of the elk buck have been going around the neighbourhood. I heard he was a seven-point (the number of points on each antler). I kept hoping I’d see him, and today we were in for an amazing surprise. I was relaxing with the kids when the dog started going nuts. I went outside and saw a large female elk on our field. Soon I noticed babies in tow, two, and another female. We could hear crunching sounds coming from behind the garage, but the only way to take a safe look was through the bathroom window, standing on the toilet seat! Sure enough, there he was! He soon ambled down towards the females.

Daughter and I watched them from the safety of the deck. It was funny to see the pigs, alternately running away from and running up towards the elk. Neither was too sure of the other, but the elk didn’t seem to find them much of a threat.

It was an amazing experience – these animals are huge, the size of a horse, and beautiful. I’ve never seen such a large wild animal so close up, and been able to just watch them quietly go about their business. After about 20 minutes they wandered off our property into the woods next door. We’ll keep the dog inside for a while until we’ve given them a chance to get further away. Besides, the male would likely charge our silly dog (who has no experience with such animals) and she could get hurt. I don’t want the elk harassed; they are an amazing presence here and I am honoured to share this land with them.

[…] and elk cannot get into the food forests. However, I wanted to include in our plans a way for the local elk herd to continue visiting our property. It has been such a wonderful and meaningful experience to wake […]

About This Blog

We fulfilled our Rural Aspirations in January 2010 when we purchased a small acreage in the beautiful Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, Canada. Follow along as a couple of city slickers try to turn 4 acres of overgrown woodland into a productive little homestead.

Blogroll

I’ve gone Paleo!

I recently decided to cut out grains and starchy carbs from my diet. I've also drastically reduced my sugar intake. Some call it Primal, others call it Paleo, but basically it's low-carb. I've started a journal to track my progress. You can visit at My Paleo Eating Journal.